With performances from Tone, Tony Toni, Boyz II Men, Johnny Gill and Bobby Brown – It was a 90’s R&B music lovers paradise at the Scottrade Center on Friday night, but only a couple of acts managed to live up to the crowds expectations. Luckily for the performers, the crowd didn’t seem to mind.
Even though the venue was by no means full, there was probably a larger crowd than expected for a group of artists who – with the exceptions of a cover album by Boyz II Men – haven’t had any releases in this millennium.
Only one of the original members of Toni, Tony Tone was included in the band’s line up, but Dwayne performance as lead singer held the attention of the crowd.
After an over-extended intermission, Johnny Gill took the stage and his high energy and on-point vocals captivated his fans from the first note. His time was shorter than the other acts, but he made the best of his set – even including a tribute to his late former LSG member Gerald Levert. Gill could have been Chris Brown, Omarian or any of the R&B/Pop flavors of the month the way the women hollered and swooned over Gill during his entire performance. His segment was the highlight of the night.
Boyz II Men were reminiscent of the old school Motown male power groups with their on-point choreography, dapper matching suits and vocals. But unfortunately unlike the Temps, the Four Tops or even their fellow artists on the ‘Ladies Night Out’ Bill, they were without live music and the tracks they sang along with had supporting vocals laced within them. The lack of live music and the accompanying vocals took away from their performance and cheated the guests out of the rich harmonies that made Boyz II Men famous in their heyday.
The weakest link for Ladies Night Out though was without a doubt – Bobby Brown. For some reason, Brown was billed as the headliner – even though Boyz II Men’s set was noticeably longer and nearly all of the artists had achieved a greater level of commercial success.
After the first song, Brown appeared to be completely worn out and by the third, Gill – also a former New Edition – joined him on stage in what appeared to be a rescue attempt. By the time he closed the show with “My Prerogative”, it was more than evident that Brown’s better days as a performer are definitely behind him.
The show was not the best by any terms, but fans seemed to connect with most of the artists, especially Gill. Despite the show’s flaws, guests appeared to be pleased with the opportunity to stroll a few steps down R&B memory lane.
